While Raynham may be relatively small in size, the town was bursting at the seams with community pride on Sunday afternoon.

The 12th annual Raynham Pride Day event drew more than 3,000 people, who enjoyed hot dogs, giveaways from local businesses, aerobics workouts, martial arts displays, firefighting demonstrations, reptile shows, and many other activities for the youngsters.

“Once again everybody came together and made it a huge success," said Kevin Ellis, who organizes the event. "With the assistance of the police and fire departments, the Lions Club, and all the businesses, not just from Raynham but from throughout the area, we feel it worked out well."

The Raynham Lions Club gave out more than 750 hot dogs, and 500 sodas and bottles of water that were donated.

Dave Sylvia, president of the club, said, "It's just something we do to support the town."

A total of 85 businesses, community organizations and nonprofits set up booths at the event — but as a ground rule no sales were allowed, Ellis said: "We don't want this to be about money, just about bringing everyone together."

Ellis also thanked his wife, Shirley, for helping him make Raynham Pride Day possible.

Eden Fergusson was there at a booth representing the Raynham Public Library.

"I think it’s important to get the community together to celebrate living here," said Fergusson, director of the library. "With the beautiful weather, and the change of seasons, it’s just a good way of doing that."

Fergusson said she's always thought of Raynham like "Brigadoon," a fictional enchanted, idyllicScottish town, featured in a musical of the same name.

"It's a small community, almost perfect," Fergusson said. "It’s a great town. The important thing about Raynham is that people really care about their community. They want the town to thrive and they want it to be a good place. Everyone is working together to make it a good place for families, and for their children."

Cathy DiMarzio, a Raynham resident, agreed about the importance of Raynham Pride Day and the nature of the town.

"This brings everyone together for a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon," DiMarzio said. "It’s great. The town has its own unique identity. The turnout at this event just shows how tight we are."

Heather Diniz, president of the Early Childhood Parents Organization, the parent group at the Merrill Elementary School, says Raynham Pride Day makes a great outreach event.

“We get to meet people in different parts of the community,” said Diniz, running the booth for the first time. "(Raynham Pride Day) kind of brings us closer to the community.”

Raynham's Judy Niles was instrumental in pioneering the first Raynham Pride Day, inspired by a community festival in New Hampshire.

Page 2 of 2 - “I brought it here because I thought we had nothing like it," said Niles, noting that the event that inspired her was more crafts-oriented than Raynham Pride Day has become. "They used to have wandering singers and a band. I think it’s great that we do this. It’s a great family activity to come out and see what’s there and to just enjoy the day. I think it’s very good for Raynham."

The community also used the event for charitable reasons. Organizers asked that citizens bring food donations, giving a boost to the Raynham Food Basket, which has been helping people for 20 years.

"We are fortunate enough to be included in this," said Debbie VanderMeel, director of the organization, motioning to a flatbed truck filled with nonperishable food items. "This comes every year at a good time, with the demand around the holidays. This, as you can see, was quite a big donation."